Often people come to this game as an escape from reality to provide themselves a little entertainment.  The downside of this, is that sometimes that can be disrupted by those who cross over the line of what is acceptable and what is not.  Too often, the line is blurred because traditionally there have been very little repercussions.  It's easier to try to destroy someone thousands of miles away with very little happening in return - it has allowed the cruelty to go unchecked.  Players don’t have to like one another, but we all agree that a base level of respect is needed. 

We are drawing a hard line in the sand to ensure that we can provide a better atmosphere here for all players so that they can play and enjoy their time without having to endure being the target of unnecessarily cruel people.

That the actions have ventured into targeting the real life player behind the keyboard.

When there are real life consequences to another players actions.

When there have been threats or attempts to harm someone in any capacity outside of the game (physically, emotionally, socially, financially, professionally and so on).

No one wants to play referee when it comes to people fighting, so to make this easier, the process will be simply rule based and without emotion.  If you break any of these rules, you will be penalized.  If this is a first offense, then a lesser punishment than a lifetime ban may be instituted in hopes that it was an isolated incident.

While I dread the bumpy road ahead while we purge a lot of the toxicity from the game, I am looking forward to the end result where people can have some back and forth tension without it rising above sane levels and spilling into real world cruelty.

Things happen on the regular.  I felt it was fair to give a very clear and final warning so that those who have a difficult time controlling their emotions and are not as fully aware of the impact that they may have on others can now have a moment of self reflection and choose if they want to continue to go down this path, or to choose a less aggressive way to express themselves.